In the battle for U.S. health care, patients and doctors are losing. Who Killed Health Care? shows how to win the war. One of the nation's most respected health care analysts, Regina Herzlinger exposes the motives and methods of those who have crippled America's health care system-figures in the insurance, hospital, employment, governmental, and academic sectors. She proves how our current system, which is organized around payers and providers rather than the needs of its users, is dangerously eroding patient welfare and is pushing costs out of the reach of millions.
Who Killed Health Care? then outlines Herzlinger's bold new plan for a consumer-driven system that will deliver affordable, high-quality care to everyone. By putting insurance money in the hands of patients, removing the middleman in the doctor-patient relationship, and giving employers cost relief, consumers and physicians will be empowered to make the system work the way it should. Herzlinger describes in precise detail how her innovative program will provide
Smaller, disease-focused medical facilities that provide complete care for patients
A national system of medical records that provides privacy with confidential access by approved practitioners
Mandatory performance evaluations of all hospitals and all other medical organizations
Mandatory health insurance with subsidies for those who cannot afford it
Who Killed Health Care? is a call to arms that must be answered; the welfare of every American hangs in the balance.
“A brilliant analysis… A must-read.” – Bill George, Professor, Harvard Business School and Former CEO of Medtronic
“As it becomes more and more obvious to everyone that our current health care system is unsustainable, this is the book that had to be written.” – Daniel H. Johnson, Jr. MD, former president of the American Medical Association
“Regina Herzlinger’s ideas to tackle the crisis of the U.S. health care system are based on keen knowledge of the system’s existing difficulties along with insights that introduce the reader to new streamlined choices that have the potential of getting both quantity and cost under control.” – Joseph Kennedy, founder, chairman, and president, Citizens Energy Corporation, CEO, Citizens Health Care, former representative (D-Mass)
“Regina Herzlinger… offers a vision of the way things can be, should be, and will be sooner or later. The only question is: how long do we have to wait?” – Greg Scandlen, founder, Consumers for Health Choices
“Regi Herzlinger has brilliantly articulated a better way – embracing the principles of competition and innovation that cause every other sector of our economy to thrive. Discharging American health care from the ICU can only happen by putting individual Americans – not politicians and bureaucrats – back in charge of their health care decisioins.” – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla), M.D.
“Following on the heels of her landmark Market-Driven Health Care, Herzlinger lays it on the line with her expose of what many who work in the health care industry have felt in their gut. Now it is articulated in an entertaining and must-read portrayal, with you and me as the only way out.” – Dennis White, executive vice president for strategic development, National Business Coalition on Health
“A wonderful Orwellian romp through issues which carry a deadly irony. The killers of health care are, of course, the third parties, each of which has an itchy palm and a commitment to profit or power which exceeds the commitment to service, with each engaging the others within a politically shaped box. Rarely has the case for the public been made with so much force, foresight, and wit, and a better way forward shown so clearly.” – James F. Fries, MD, Professor of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine
“You can practically hear the war chants as Professor Herzlinger sets out her view of what’s wrong with the health care system and how to fix it. You’d best read it so you can decide which side you will be on when the battle is joined.” – Paul Levy, CEO, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA
“Regina Herzlinger, the nation’s leading expert on consumer-driven health care, has given us a brilliant analysis of the flaws in our health care system and what it will take to get it back on track. Her latest book is a must-read.” – Bill George, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School, Former CEO, Medtronic, and author of Authentic Leadership
“You don’t have to agree with her diagnosis and prescription for the U.S. health care system, but you do have to read her book. Once again, Professor Herzlinger has put together a well researched, well written, and very provocative blueprint for the future of health care.” Peter L. Slavin, MD, President, Massachusetts General Hospital
No explanation I haven't seen one review explaining how this is going to help lower health care costs. There's only mention of all kinds of grants, subsidies, means-test, and consumer driven methods. How is an individual person supposed to negotiate or "get" a better rate than what a corporation can negotiate? Doesn't make sense. How is this going to combat overpriced drugs, hospitals, physicians, middle men? The profit motive is still there for the insurers in any case. Seems like a bunch of complicated mumbo jumbo that appeals to "do it yourself" and "yippie for capitalism" jingoists. A book worth reading is A Second Opinion: Rescuing America's Health Care by Dr. Arnold Relman. Once we stop fearing the rest of the world and drop our arrogance, that will be the day we can finally find peace.
Tip of the iceberg, see the image I've been thinking about publishing a book on health intelligence, and borrowed this from a colleague.
My contribution will be the image I created while thinking about what the book should look like--the inner square was co-created with another person.
This book can be summarized with three words: *corruption* killed health; *transparency* can heal us; and only we, the *patients* (or victims) can come together to demand resolution.
In the comment, where Amazon does allow URLs, I am pointing to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers report online, which documents 50% of all health costs as waste.
The author ends with very specific recommendations that are excellent as far as they go, but that ignore the 80% of solutions that are outside the existing hospital-pharmaceutical complex. The Japanese have started weighing and measuring their population--a population's health and vitality is the single greatest contributor to national power and prosperity, ergo, we need a "360" approach to national health, and I try to depict that in the image above.
See also: The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster, and the Water We Drink Fast Food Nation The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health The Health of Nations: Infectious Disease, Environmental Change, and Their Effects on National Security and Development Diet for a Small Planet (20th Anniversary Edition) Human Scale Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace
innovative approach for radical improvement Jack Morgan was a great guy and when he died, a lot of people mourned him. He could have lived another 20 years, but he died because of an inept, malfunctioning, costly healthcare system. Jack thought this system was protecting him, but it killed him.
The hospitals, employers, managed care insurers, the Congress and executive branch, and health policy academics, all conspired, according to Dr. Regina Herzlinger, Harvard Business School Professor and accomplished author, to kill Jack and hundreds of thousands others, and to make enormous profits in the process.
Her solution? Consumer-driven healthcare, more or less following the Swiss model. It would enable innovators who have great ideas about how to get more value for the money to enter the space and allow providers compete for Jack's business. It would encourage multiple revolutionary innovations in the supply of health care and result in significantly better and less expensive service.
A truly innovative approach for radical improvement that can be accomplished incrementally and tremendously benefit all of us. Read it and think about wonderful possibilities!
Yuval Lirov, Practicing Profitability - Billing Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinics and Chiropractic Offices: Collections, Audit Risk, SOAP Notes, Scheduling, Care Plans, and Coding
Courageous insight Professor Herlinger has once again tackled the single greatest problem in the United States: the antiquated, patronizing, and profit-driven system of health care. Almost everyone who has the authority to do something about our system seems to be too closely tied to industry to make any significant change. This book lays it out simply and directly: we need to return to a consumer-oriented system
A must read! This book was absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend it! Dr. Herzlinger does a remarkable job of explaining the complex (and inefficient) healthcare system that we currently have and clearly outlining the steps that need to be taken to fix it. Her ideas are simple, yet complex because they will revolutionize healthcare and take great steps towards the better care and coverage we all deserve.
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